A Philosophical Happy Hour inquiring into the nature of enmity, the distinction of public and personal enemies, and the morally rightful manner of holding oneself in opposition to others.
We hear a lot these days about friends and enemies, and—it seems—not unreasonably. The world seems awash in hostility. But what is it, in fact, that makes someone an enemy? What does it mean, “to be enemies”? In what sense do we have enemies today—personally, as participants in politics? Are these enemies domestic or foreign? Or do these distinctions somehow, today, fall short of our actual social relationships?
Perhaps, before we take up arms (physical or virtual) against our opponents, we should understand what it means to be enemies—and understand, too, our responsibilities towards them.
Enmity and Enemies
The English word “enemy” comes from the Latin inimicus, itself composed from the privative prefix “in-“ and the noun “amicus”, friend, and thus, signifies quite literally the “not-friend”. Relatedly, the term hostis was eventually used to designate a “public enemy”—an enemy of the state, that is—but originally signified the stranger or foreigner; the member of some other political community.
The opposition of the latter is more readily intelligible, for it applies whenever different political communities come into conflict over ways of life or resources. When this spills into violent conflict, we find enmity arises—the privation of friendship or even of its conditions.
But for most of us, the enmity we experience is not directed at foreign powers or their citizens, but at others within our own political community: be they neighbors, denizens of another state, fans of another sports team (only half-kidding), members of the same parish, school, profession, co-workers, and so on. What causes this enmity? How is the relationship of in-imicality caused? We would do well here, I think, to read what St. Thomas says about the requirements of charity with respect to an enemy.
Dignity of the Enemy
Additionally, I would suggest that we should consider the regard of the enemy as a human being and what that means concerning our treatment of him. Here, we might consider what Pope Benedict XV penned in the days before World War I. He writes:[1]
In order the more to stimulate us to brotherly love, even towards those whom our natural pride despises, it is His will that we should recognize the dignity of His own very self in the meanest of men: “As long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. xxv. 40). At the close of His life did He not most earnestly beg of His Father, that as many as should believe in Him should all be one in the bond of charity? “As thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee” (John xvii. 21). And finally, as He was hanging from the cross, He poured out His blood over us all, whence being as it were compacted and fitly joined together in one body, we should love one another, with a love like that which one member bears to another in the same body.
What does it mean to “recognize the dignity of [Christ] in the meanest of men”? What actions follow from the recognition of such dignity? Let us think through this carefully in terms both political and religious.
Friends and Enemies Alike Are Welcome
Ally yourself with our conversation this Wednesday (22 October 2025, from 5:45-7:15+ pm ET) as we think these issues through the following questions:
- How should we distinguish personal enmity (inimicus) from public enmity (hostis) today, and what concrete criteria would mark the shift from one to the other in contemporary life? Does such public enmity constitute our political entities?
- According to Aquinas’ order of charity, what do we owe an enemy as enemy? Do we owe them truth, mercy, justice?
- What does it mean in practice to “recognize the dignity of Christ in the meanest of men” when confronting a harmful adversary? What is obligatory to us, what recommended?
- When does “refusal of friendship” become morally necessary for the sake of the common good, and how can such refusal avoid hatred or dehumanization?
Don’t be a stranger (hostis)… and perhaps become an amicus!
philosophical happy hour
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Come join us for drinks (adult or otherwise) and a meaningful conversation. Open to the public! Held every Wednesday from 5:45–7:15pm ET.
[1] Benedict XV, 11 January 1914: Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum, §6.
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